


'tis the damn season

by PerriewinkleNerdie



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:20:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28028436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie
Summary: Claire enjoys an evening with her family, then reunites with Ethan the next day.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 13





	'tis the damn season

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! How are we all doing? It's been a while since we saw each other, huh? It's almost Christmas, which can only mean one thing.   
> Christmas - themes fics. This one is kinda like that.  
> Enjoy! <3

“Herondale, you want a refill?” he called out from the kitchen, appearing in the doorway with a bottle of wine in his hand a moment later. “I won’t ask again.”

“Your words only make sense because Tess is a Hastings now, and I assume you didn’t mean yourself.” Claire turned to her brother, smiling teasingly at him. “But it _is_ a miracle that you asked at all, Will, so I’ll take all the human behavior I can get from you and accept your offer.”

She raised her glass, watching how the burgundy liquid filled it, casting a reddish shadow on the fabric of her cream dress. Their sister carried in the casserole, placing it in the middle of the table with a heavy sigh.

“Aww, look at you, Will, all grown up and acting like an adult.” She cooed, ruffling her younger brother’s hair. “I’m proud.”

Eric watched the dynamics between the Herondale siblings with an amused smirk. He’s been a part of the family long enough to know that it was how they operated. All the bickering was their own ‘normal’, and they might argue here and there, but there was nothing they wouldn’t do for each other.

He walked over to his wife, draping his arm over her shoulder to pull her closer. Tess smiled softly, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek.

“We’re so glad to see you, Claire. It’s been a while since you had a break.” Eric said as he pulled out a chair for the oldest Herondale in the room. Claire nodded, drumming her nails against the stem of her wine glass.

“It’s been a crazy year. With all the commotion at the hospital, new interns and a new… _addition_ to the diagnostic team, it’s a non-stop roller coaster ride.” She let out a frustrated sigh at the mention of the new doctor that worked with them. She often joked how she’d like June back; they may not have agreed on many things, but at least they shared common outlook on what patient care was supposed to be.

“Not to mention some very exciting developments in your personal life, huh?” Tess nudged her sister’s shoulder with her own, grinning at the blush that crept up Claire’s neck. “You like living with Ethan?”

After months of being together, Ethan and Claire decided to take the next step in their relationship. They were spending their nights together anyway, but the commotion of going back and forth between their apartments was making them tired.

One night, a very nervous Ethan asked a very amused Claire how she would feel about waking up next to him every morning from that point on. It’s been that way ever since.

“Yeah, how’s that boo of yours treating you?” Will chimed in, leaning in from the other side and trapping Claire between her siblings. Nowhere to run from these two.

Eric turned out to be her savior.

“Tess, didn’t we have something prepared for Ethan for Christmas? Take Will with you, one of the packages is heavy.”

His wife let out a happy sigh, standing up immediately and dragging a very disappointed Will by his sweater. Claire breathed out in relief, falling deeper into her chair.

“Thank you. They would have investigated me for the whole night if it wasn’t for you.”

“I know how it is to be a new guy in the family.” He shrugged, swirling the wine in his glass. “I take It as my responsibility to defend Ethan.” He paused, snickering at how it sounded. “If that’s even a thing.”

“A budding bromance. I approve.” she grinned, looking at her brother-in-law with gratitude. “I’m so happy Tess has you. You’re an amazing guy, Eric.”

“She’s an amazing woman. And so are you. And that Ethan of yours is pretty great too. Of course, no one is as amazing as Tess, but you get my point.” Eric added, both of them laughing lightly. “I also love the unspoken agreement between you and me. No personal or embarrassing questions.”

Claire clinked her glass against Eric’s. “Only one of many reasons I like you.”

“Okay!” Tess exclaimed, walking back into the room with two boxes in her hands. Will followed closely behind, carrying something as well, mockingly calling out for help and claiming that he was dying. Once the boxes were sitting on the ground, the brunette clapped her hands softly. “These are gifts for Ethan. We don’t know if we’re going to see you before Christmas, so we decided to have a backup.”

“This one is from us.” Eric pointed towards the box at the bottom of the pile. “We considered a few different things, but I think we hit it right on the money.” His hand moved a bit higher in the direction of the second box. “That one’s from your parents. And this one-“

“This one’s from yours truly.” Will spoke up with a wide grin, clearly proud of himself. “It’s a ‘my condolences for being stuck with my sister’ gift.” Tess delivered a smack to his shoulder, scolding him with a harsh look. “ _Ouch!_ Okay, okay, I’m just kidding.” He protested, then turned to Claire, smiling genuinely. “Ethan’s awesome. And he makes you happy, so maybe we won’t have to kill him after all.”

“I’m very happy. And I appreciate you sparing him.” She hugged her brother, a tear or two gathering in her eyes, then attacked her sister and brother-in-law, wrapping them both in bone-crushing embraces. “I love you guys, so much.”

~~

She closed the door behind her as softly as she could. It was far too early for her to loudly walk around the apartment, so she put her coat away and left her shoes on the ground, leaving her feet bare. The door leading to the bedroom were opened just enough for her to walk in without making any noise, letting her stand by the headboard and observe the man in her bed.

Well, their bed.

Ethan’s face was a picture of utter peacefulness. His body was partially covered by the duvet, making it possible for the light to bring out the slightly defined lines of his chest and arms, and for her gaze to run all over them, like so many times before.

Claire climbed onto the bed, careful to not let the mattress dip too much and disturb Ethan’s sleep. Resting her head on her hand, she silently observed him; something she didn’t have many chances to do, since, usually, she was the one of the two of them to wake up later. In most instances, it was Ethan that indulged himself with watching her as she slept, letting her rest until the very last moment, by which point she had to wake up.

She brushed his hair away from his face, caressing the line of his cheekbone with the back of her fingers. She kept her touch light, slowly bringing him into consciousness. He stirred a bit, then slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust his sight to the bright light of the early morning.

“Good morning.” Claire muttered into his ear, pulling the covers over his body when he shivered. The corners of his lips went up at the gesture.

“Very good morning, indeed.” Ethan’s voice was thick with sleep, lower than it was when he usually spoke. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her against him to bury his face in her hair. His lips pressed to her neck, muffling his words slightly. “You’re back early.”

“I got kicked out.” She giggled, admitting the real reason for her being back at home a day early. Ethan slowly leaned back, a teasing look on his face.

“What did you do to poor Tess?”

“I didn’t _do_ anything. They were leaving to visit Eric’s parents earlier than they planned, so I dropped Will off at the train station and came back to Boston.” She leaned down, brushing her nose against his slightly. “Drove half the night to see you.”

“Well, I’m very happy you’re back.” Ethan mused, tracing her jaw with his thumb. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

There’s a beat of silence, hesitation hanging in the air. And then their lips met in a slow kiss, moving languidly against each other. Ethan moved his hand to the back of Claire’s neck, holding her in place, right above him. Her hands were resting on either side of his head, her hair creating a soft curtain around them.

His arm wrapped tighter around her, refusing to let her go when the kiss eventually broke. His blue eyes were now focused on her, registering all the details of her face with laser precision. He moved his hand to cup the side of her face, stroking her cheek softly, as though he was holding the most precious thing in the world.

“How long have you been gone?”

“Six days.”

“Far too long.”

Leaning up, he kissed her again, moving them both into sitting positions. Their lips met a few more times, then separated for good, a tingling, fleeting sensation already on its way to leave them. Ethan held her hand in his, relishing in its warmth.

“I just remembered, I brought you gifts from the Herondale bunch.” Claire suddenly said, moving towards the door. Ethan remained seated, watching her retreating form.

“’Just remembered’, huh? Something distracted you?” he teased, smirking at the look she sent him over her shoulder.

“A very handsome attending in my bed. But you already know that.”

A few minutes later, she carried in three boxes (Will wasn’t kidding when he said it was heavy). She set them down by the wall, then walked back to the bed and sat down next to Ethan. Extending her hand, she began explaining.

“This one’s from Tess and Eric. The middle one is from my parents, and the last one is from Will.”

“And what’s the occasion?”

“Depends on who you’re asking about.” She smiled as she recalled the conversation she had with her family the night before. “Tess, Eric and my parents said they’re Christmas gifts. And Will sent his gift with his condolences attached to it.” at Ethan’s surprised expression, she specified. “Because you’re stuck with his sister.”

“Oh, I see.” He slowly nodded, pulling the strap of her dress off her shoulder to make space for his lips to occupy. “I can’t seem to find one reason to mind that.”

His hands made their way around her body and onto her thighs, squeezing them. Kisses that were initiated on her shoulder, steadily moved towards her spine and up her neck, halting just shy of her ear, his breath hot when he whispered her name.

Even without seeing his face, his intentions were crystal clear. One barely visible nod later, she was turning around to face him. His hands on her hips hauled her onto the bed, covering her body with his and they drowned in kisses as the sun climbed up the horizon behind the window.


End file.
